Hypoxia as a Biomarker of Kidney Disease

Abstract

All established (e.g., serum creatinine, albuminuria) and emerging (e.g., neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin, cystatin C) biomarkers of kidney disease suffer from the disadvantage that they are markers of damage to the kidney or loss of renal function. Tissue hypoxia is believed to be an initiating factor, in both chronic kidney disease (CKD) and acute kidney injury (AKI), so may provide a physiological biomarker for early diagnosis of both conditions. Currently blood oxygen dependent magnetic resonance imaging (BOLD MRI) appears to have little diagnostic value in human CKD. On the other hand, the measurement of urinary oxygen tension (PO2) has potential as a biomarker of risk of AKI..